Planned Parenthood warns 115 California clinics could close without $25 Million monthly lifeline

Sacramento, California – As Congressional Republicans advance a sweeping budget proposal that could strip federal funding from abortion providers, Planned Parenthood is mounting an urgent campaign to secure emergency financial support from blue states like California, New York, and Massachusetts. With hundreds of clinics and millions of patients potentially affected, the organization is warning lawmakers that its ability to continue operating—particularly in states where abortion remains legal—may hinge on whether state leaders can fill the looming financial void.

The proposed federal budget would prohibit Medicaid funds from going to “prohibited entities”—a designation that includes tax-exempt organizations offering both family planning and abortion services, and receiving more than $800,000 annually from the government. Though not named outright, Planned Parenthood is widely understood to be the bill’s primary target.

“This is a deliberate attack,” said Fabiola De Liban of the National Health Law Program. “All they needed to add was ‘if your organization rhymes with wood.’”

The stakes are particularly high in California, where Planned Parenthood has told Governor Gavin Newsom it may need over $25 million a month in state assistance to keep its 115 clinics open. Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California President Jodi Hicks said she is in talks with both Newsom’s office and the legislature about a short-term infusion of funds to prevent service interruptions while a longer-term solution is developed.

“In a normal year that would be great—we’d consider all of that a win,” Hicks said, referring to a recent budget battle in which the group successfully fought to preserve $500 million in state funding. “Unfortunately, we are having to plan at the same time for being defunded at the federal level.”

Similar appeals are underway in Oregon and Massachusetts, where Planned Parenthood chapters warn that losing access to Medicaid billing would result in immediate and potentially permanent clinic closures. In Oregon, where Planned Parenthood provides the bulk of reproductive healthcare statewide, roughly 70% of patients are on Medicaid. CEO Sara Kennedy said current state reimbursement rates only cover about 45% of the actual cost of care.

“It’s easy in the sense that they just need more money,” said De Liban. “It’s very complicated in that I don’t know where the money’s going to be coming from.”

Planned Parenthood clinics in New York asked Governor Kathy Hochul for emergency funds, but her administration declined, saying it would respond if the federal cuts become law. The state stands to lose over $13 billion in Medicaid funding under the Republican proposal.

While defunding efforts may ultimately face legal hurdles—including the same budget reconciliation limits that derailed similar efforts in 2017—advocates say the mere threat is already destabilizing clinics that serve as primary care providers in many underserved areas. And even if partial state support materializes, few believe it could ever match the scale of what would be lost.

Behind the budget debates lies a broader strategic effort to weaken reproductive healthcare access in states where abortion remains legal—not by banning procedures outright, but by undermining the infrastructure that provides them. Planned Parenthood and its allies are bracing for a drawn-out fight, one that may come down not just to dollars, but to political will.